The policy of the Soviet state and the Renovationist schism in Kuban, region (1922–1923)

This article reconstructs the evolution of renovationist schism in the Kuban Diocese, which was one of the main outposts of the schism in the country, based on a wide range of unpublished sources from state and departmental archives. A characteristic feature of the development of the renovationist movement in the region was its support by the overwhelming majority of the clergy of the diocese. More than twelve Kuban clerics became self-appointed hierarchs, some were members of the governing renovationist bodies. The socio-political specifics of the Cossacks and their involvement in the events of the Civil War were reflected in church life, and the clergy, through cooperation with the authorities, sought to whitewash their ministry during the reign of the Volunteer Army. Despite the high religiosity, unlike other southern regions, the anti-renewal movement was local in nature and did not become widespread. As a result of the most severe repressive measures, dozens of clergy who did not recognize the renovationist «Higher Church Administration» (VTsU) were expelled from the region, including the vicar Bishop of Yeisk, Eusebius (Rozhdestvensky), archpriests Alexander Makov and Alexander Purlevsky, etc. The direct connection of the Kuban clergy with the leaders of renovationism, the highest bodies of the Soviet vertical and the leadership of the security agencies provided the necessary support for the schism and the preservation of monopoly in church life for two decades.